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Pre-market futures are budding up slightly this morning, in what has become one of the most challenging weeks (so far) in recent memory. Major market indexes have come down since Thursday of last week, but at this hour the Dow is +73 points, +0.16%, the S&P 500 is +16 points, +0.24%, the Nasdaq +77, +0.31%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 is +8 points, +0.37%.
We are not seeing the Housing Starts and Building Permits reports this morning, which we were hoping for once the federal government reopened last month. We also saw Philly Fed Manufacturing on our calendar for ahead of today’s open, but no dice there, either. The good news is that we shall see these open boxes get checked over time, so we’ll be patient about this sort of thing.
U.S. Trade Deficit Smallest of the Year: -$59.6B
The delayed August U.S. Trade Balance was released this morning — another victim of the government shutdown, until now. For what it is, it constitutes good news: -$59.6 billion, better than the -$61.0 billion expected and notably improved from the previous month’s modestly revised -$78.2 billion. Compare this with March’s record deficit -$136.4 billion — a glitch of data, coming as it did directly ahead of “Liberation Day” tariff policies in the first week of April.
While these are all welcome improvements, what we notice upon further examination is a continuing weaker narrative on trade: imports fell in this latest report, while exports remained sluggish. Also, keep in mind this data is from August of this year; we should be able to get fresher data in speedier fashion over the weeks to come, and would hope the figures improve further.
Earnings Roundup Ahead of the Open: TGT, LOW, TJX & More
Target ((TGT - Free Report) shares are slipping another -3.4% this morning, following its Q3 earnings report out before the opening bell. Earnings of $1.78 per share outpaced the Zacks consensus by 2 cents, while revenues of $25.27 billion missed expectations by -0.36%, and decidedly lower than the $25.67 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Shares had already tumbled -34.5% year to date.
Lowe’s ((LOW - Free Report) is performing much better this morning, +5.9% at this hour, following its +3% positive earnings beat to $3.06 per share. Revenues in the quarter of $20.81 billion were right on the money with Zacks estimates, but the key metric finding favor this morning is that Lowe’s outperformed its rival Home Depot (HD) on year-over-year comps.
The TJX Companies ((TJX - Free Report) , parent of TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods, beat estimates on both top and bottom lines this morning. Earnings of $1.28 per share surpassed estimates for $1.22 by +4.9% this morning, on $15.12 billion in sales bettered the $14.88 billion in the Zacks consensus, for a +1.58% revenue beat.
NVIDIA Reports After the Close Today
Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rate NVIDIA ((NVDA - Free Report) will close the book on “Mag 7” earnings for the calendar Q3 this afternoon, and even if it doesn’t outperform estimates (though it has posted positive earnings surprises in three of the past four quarters) its numbers will be nothing short of extraordinary: +53.1% earnings growth is expected on +55.85% gains in revenues from a year ago. This, from a company with an already outlandish $4.4 trillion market cap.
Pre-market futures for NVIDIA are up another +1.6% ahead of the open, adding to the company’s +35% stock value gain since the start of the year. It remains Ground Zero for the AI trade, with new deals made with burgeoning AI services firms seemingly every week. Off its October 2022 lows, NVIDIA shares are up over +1500% — and its forward P/E is a lofty (but not unreasonable) 40.22x.
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U.S. Trade Deficit Narrowed in August
Pre-market futures are budding up slightly this morning, in what has become one of the most challenging weeks (so far) in recent memory. Major market indexes have come down since Thursday of last week, but at this hour the Dow is +73 points, +0.16%, the S&P 500 is +16 points, +0.24%, the Nasdaq +77, +0.31%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 is +8 points, +0.37%.
We are not seeing the Housing Starts and Building Permits reports this morning, which we were hoping for once the federal government reopened last month. We also saw Philly Fed Manufacturing on our calendar for ahead of today’s open, but no dice there, either. The good news is that we shall see these open boxes get checked over time, so we’ll be patient about this sort of thing.
U.S. Trade Deficit Smallest of the Year: -$59.6B
The delayed August U.S. Trade Balance was released this morning — another victim of the government shutdown, until now. For what it is, it constitutes good news: -$59.6 billion, better than the -$61.0 billion expected and notably improved from the previous month’s modestly revised -$78.2 billion. Compare this with March’s record deficit -$136.4 billion — a glitch of data, coming as it did directly ahead of “Liberation Day” tariff policies in the first week of April.
While these are all welcome improvements, what we notice upon further examination is a continuing weaker narrative on trade: imports fell in this latest report, while exports remained sluggish. Also, keep in mind this data is from August of this year; we should be able to get fresher data in speedier fashion over the weeks to come, and would hope the figures improve further.
Earnings Roundup Ahead of the Open: TGT, LOW, TJX & More
Target ((TGT - Free Report) shares are slipping another -3.4% this morning, following its Q3 earnings report out before the opening bell. Earnings of $1.78 per share outpaced the Zacks consensus by 2 cents, while revenues of $25.27 billion missed expectations by -0.36%, and decidedly lower than the $25.67 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Shares had already tumbled -34.5% year to date.
Lowe’s ((LOW - Free Report) is performing much better this morning, +5.9% at this hour, following its +3% positive earnings beat to $3.06 per share. Revenues in the quarter of $20.81 billion were right on the money with Zacks estimates, but the key metric finding favor this morning is that Lowe’s outperformed its rival Home Depot (HD) on year-over-year comps.
The TJX Companies ((TJX - Free Report) , parent of TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods, beat estimates on both top and bottom lines this morning. Earnings of $1.28 per share surpassed estimates for $1.22 by +4.9% this morning, on $15.12 billion in sales bettered the $14.88 billion in the Zacks consensus, for a +1.58% revenue beat.
NVIDIA Reports After the Close Today
Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rate NVIDIA ((NVDA - Free Report) will close the book on “Mag 7” earnings for the calendar Q3 this afternoon, and even if it doesn’t outperform estimates (though it has posted positive earnings surprises in three of the past four quarters) its numbers will be nothing short of extraordinary: +53.1% earnings growth is expected on +55.85% gains in revenues from a year ago. This, from a company with an already outlandish $4.4 trillion market cap.
Pre-market futures for NVIDIA are up another +1.6% ahead of the open, adding to the company’s +35% stock value gain since the start of the year. It remains Ground Zero for the AI trade, with new deals made with burgeoning AI services firms seemingly every week. Off its October 2022 lows, NVIDIA shares are up over +1500% — and its forward P/E is a lofty (but not unreasonable) 40.22x.